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Recommendation

Let’s face it, a lot of people in business had no intention of ending up in business when they were studying in college. Corporate cube-mazes are riddled with liberal arts majors turned middle management. It’s time for many of you non-business majors to admit your secret weakness: You can’t read a financial statement. Now that it’s out in the open, take a deep breath and dive into Ken Langon and Alan Bonham’s business finance primer, which will teach you to mash numbers with the best of ’em, or at least fake it as well as anyone else. All the basics are covered here: earnings, margins, cashflow, liabilities and assets. The book also provides a thorough rundown of other financial ratios that executives, analysts and investors use to measure performance. Don’t let the financial terminology or the slightly British-tilting jargon put you off. getAbstract.com recommends this book to anyone in business who feels that gaps in your financial education have placed you at a disadvantage to your MBA-toting peers.

In this summary, you will learn

Why you should become financially savvy;

How to read earnings statements, balance sheets and cashflow statements; and

What ratios to consider to gauge your company's health.

About the Authors

Ken Langdon is a consultant and author of books about investing, sales and finance. Alan Bonham is a chartered accountant, consultant and trainer, and co-author of a book about investing.

Summary

Reading Financial Statements Many executives who run sales, marketing or research divisions are mystified by the jargon of their companies’ financial gurus. Managers who fail to acquire financial savvy do so at their peril because they’re apt to make seemingly sound decisions that are ...